Speakers

STEPH MCGOVERN

Business Reporter, BBC

Over the past twelve years Steph McGovern has reported on business and finance from around the world, from international summits to small business success stories.

She is an established part of the BBC Breakfast team, covering business developments daily, and also regularly taking to the sofa as main co-host. During the financial crash Steph was the lead producer of financial news, working with business editor Robert Peston at the forefront of the award-winning coverage of the credit crunch and banking crisis.

Steph recently launched her own children's TV show looking for the next generation of entrepreneurs, called Pocket Money Pitch on CBBC. Steph is also the co-host of BBC One’s prime time show Shop Well For Less and is on the presenting team of BBC One’s ‘Watchdog’.

BEN TOWERS

Award-winning young entrepreneur

Described by Richard Branson as one of the UK's most exciting next generation entrepreneurs, at 19 years old Ben has already achieved tremendous success. Aged 11 he started building websites, this then grew into a full service agency with a team of 28 people working on campaigns with brands such as Amazon, Pot Noodle, Champneys, Quickbooks and Virgin.

He merged and exited his marketing business in 2017 in order to focus on his passion to use digital tech to address the growing health challenge faced by young people today.

In parallel with this business success, Ben ventured into the world of TV and Media featuring in the series Pocket Money Pitch, (a Dragons’ Den style programme for CBBC) and individual programmes such as Question Time, The Chancellors Debate, Can Britain Afford a Pay Rise and BBC Breakfast.

As a speaker, Ben regularly keynotes at conferences around the world, and was named by The Times as ‘The Smartest Teenager on the Planet’ in their Super Teen Power List published in 2016.

He is a dedicated supporter of Young Enterprise and the cause of young people and young entrepreneurs in business.

CLAIRE VALOTI

Vice president Snap Inc.

Claire Valoti is the Vice President of the International Business at Snap Inc., Snap Inc is a camera company - the mobile app that represents the greatest opportunity to improve the way people live and communicate.

As the VP of International, Claire is leading growth and revenue across four continents, including key markets: UK, France, Germany, Nordics + Netherlands, Canada, Australia and MENA. Her priority is to unlock the potential of International markets while continuing to scale those that are already realized.

Prior to joining Snap in 2016, Claire was the Director of Agency Partnerships at Facebook UK; Media Director at Weve, and Managing Director of Weve’s predecessor, O2 Media. Claire began her career agency- side, spending more than 11 years at Mindshare across world-class brands.

She lives in London with her husband and two daughters, Arianna and Alexia.